Athlete of the Week: Albert Goerlitz

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OWEN (WAOW) -
In addition to being a three-sport star, Owen-Withee's Albert Goerlitz is his class' valedictorian and participates in countless extra-curricular activities from forensics to the school's math team.

The Blackhawks are 16-3 on the season and on top of the Cloverbelt-East, and Goerlitz is perhaps the main reason why.

“I try to be a leader and I try to push the team in the right direction,” Goerlitz said.

He added that basketball is his favorite sport. This is fitting, considering what was maybe his single greatest moment as an athlete came on the hardwood earlier this month.

In a victory over Spencer on February 3, Goerlitz scored 30 points and broke the Owen-Withee career scoring record. As if all that wasn't enough, Goerlitz capped it off by hitting the game-winning shot at the buzzer.

“I was on top of the world,” the senior guard beamed. “We won the game and it kept us at the top of the conference. It was definitely the biggest shot I've hit in my career.”

Goerlitz's success comes as no surprise to many. Just ask his head coach, Russ Weiler, who was also Albert's fourth grade teacher.

“Right away, you saw that work ethic,” Weiler said. “That, obviously he aims to please. And he's definitely a humble-type kid.”

Humble seems to be the go-to adjective to describe this three-sport star, who credited his home life for his positive attitude.

“I was brought up in a family where everyone is equal,” Goerlitz explained. “Where you don't have to bring yourself u p and have yourself looked at above everybody.”

Goerlitz grew up and still lives on a farm, and said he was always taught that before he can be a star on the court, he must first be a star at home.

“I usually get up between 5:00 and 5:30 to get all the chores done and make myself pretty before I go to school,” he laughed.

As Owen-Withee's all-time leading scorer, Goerlitz is sure to leave a legacy behind him. But, as usual, he's more concerned about what his team can accomplish this season.

“I don't know about any of that, leaving one behind,” he said. “I just wanted to leave a nice gold ball in the trophy case.”